From Slavery to God's Glory

Exodus 40 brings the book to its goal. Moses raises the tabernacle on the first day of the first month of the second year after leaving Egypt, almost a year after the Passover. Eight times the chapter repeats that Moses acted as Yahweh commanded him. He sets everything in its place, from the ark inside the veil to the gate of the court, and then Moses finished the work (40:33), echoing God finishing creation in Genesis 2:2.

Then the cloud covers the tent, and Yahweh's glory filled the tabernacle (40:34). The God who appeared on Sinai in fire and cloud now comes to dwell in the middle of the camp. Even Moses cannot enter. God's presence is a gift of grace, but His holiness still requires a mediator and a way of approach, which Leviticus will describe.

Exodus began with Israel enslaved to Pharaoh and ends with Israel serving the Lord in His presence. The Hebrew word for service links both ideas: they were freed from forced labor to serve the true King in worship. The guiding cloud shows that God will lead them throughout all their journeys. In the New Testament, John 1:14 says the Word lived among us. The Word tabernacled among us (John 1:14), believers become God's temple (1 Corinthians 3:16), and at last God's dwelling is with people forever (Revelation 21:3).